A New Beginning
by JealousDragon
Summary: [ONE-SHOT] A start to a new beginning in Gale and Katniss's lives. Please R&R! :)


**Disclaimer: I don't own The Hunger Games in any way. All rights go to Suzanne Collins. **

**A/N: So, this fic is dedicated to my best friend, Bookaholism who's an Everthorne shipper. And though I prefer Everlark, I tried my best to make it a good one-shot and I think it didn't turn out that bad. **

**Bookaholism: I really did try my best and know this: the characters are unbelievably OOC. It's hard to depict THG characters…it's really not my fault but do forgive me for that! And fine, it's more than 500 words…so sue me but I really couldn't make it any shorter :/ Anyway, I'll be expecting a nice review from you, alright? Oh and my Dramione fic better be good :P **

**Other people who'll read this, please review! Reviews make my day :)**

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She was still beautiful. Bold and beautiful. But also a little broken…so was the blond boy next to her. Peeta.

He wasn't so bad, except for the fact that he stole Gale's and Katniss's four years of friendship in just two weeks.

The Hunger Games destroyed what Gale and Katniss once had.

Gale watched from a distance as Katniss laughed at something Peeta said. He, in return, looked at her like she was a miracle. It was crystal clear from his gaze that Peeta was head over heels in love with her. Gale didn't blame him…Katniss rarely opened up to anyone but when she did, you couldn't help but like her.

He remembered all those days of hunting together, sharing what little food they could manage to get, laughing at the silliest things, Katniss's annoyance when he called her Catnip but you could see the hint of a smile on her face, how both of them cared for their families and promised each other that they would take care of the other's family if one of them died.

And boy, did Gale do that...by indirectly killing Prim, the person Katniss cared about most in the entire world. Gale felt a tug at his heart… a deep feeling of regret enveloped him and he sighed sadly.

He took one last shuddering breath and approached the laughing couple.

Peeta's laugh abruptly stopped as he saw Gale. Katniss turned around to look and her eyes widened while Peeta's hardened. He stepped closer to Katniss, as if protecting her from Gale, the sister-killer. Gale almost wanted to laugh…right, like he would ever do anything to hurt Katniss.

_But you already have done it, _said a little voice inside his head. Gale ignored it. After all, he was here to make amends, not feel guilty. He'd already been doing that a lot lately.

Gale cleared his throat as he reached them and said what he realized later was a very formal voice, "Katniss. Can I talk to you?"

Katniss just stared at him and then blinked as if she was having trouble believing that it was actually Gale.

When Peeta opened his mouth to what Gale could only think was protest, Katniss cut him off and said, "Peeta, its okay. Come on, Gale."

Gale nodded and followed her out of Peeta's earshot.

"What do you want?" asked Katniss, ever the straightforward one. Her posture held a certain caution. Like she was being careful with him. She looked about ready to flee or fight if the time came. Gale felt his heart sink…Katniss was never like this with him before. Their relationship had changed and it was never going to be the same again and it was about to time he accepted it.

Gale took a deep breath and said, "I'm not going to say I'm sorry, Katniss. You and I both know sorry doesn't change anything. I just want to tell you that I never meant to hurt and that… I'm going hunting tomorrow. You're welcome to come. In fact, I'll be expecting you."

Katniss stared at him dubiously for a few moments before her shoulders relaxed and she cracked a small and slightly hesitant smile. That little smile lifted a huge weight off Gale's shoulder. He didn't know what had caused this sudden change in attitude. Maybe she'd had time to think about it all or maybe she just recognized the complete honesty in Gale's eyes.

He smiled back at her. "What do you think?"

Katniss looked him in the eye and said, "We'll see Gale, we'll see."

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**A/N: Bookaholism: Fine, this sucks but don't rub it in my face, okay? Oh and please suggest a better title and summary for this. I just named and summarized the story with the first thing that came into my mind! :P  
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